--- title: Marco Rubio Echoes Ted Cruz's Tactic but Without Controversy description: Senator Marco Rubio's campaign sent select Iowa voters a mailer designed to pressure them to attend Monday's caucuses. canonical: https://time.com/4201580/marco-rubio-iowa-mailer/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-31T19:23:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:49.271Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rubio Echoes Cruz's Tactic, But Without Controversy og:description: It doesn't look like a government document. og:url: https://time.com/4201580/marco-rubio-iowa-mailer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cf6f9f5bde92335/69887b7ecd1bba2bcf6ff33e/marco-rubio12.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican Presidential Candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaks to a group of potential supporters at a rally on the campus of Iowa State University, Saturday January 30, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rubio Echoes Cruz's Tactic, But Without Controversy twitter:description: It doesn't look like a government document. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cf6f9f5bde92335/69887b7ecd1bba2bcf6ff33e/marco-rubio12.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Marco Rubio Echoes Ted Cruz's Tactic, but Without Controversy > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a93cb564-e2bd-4db0-8ae5-fbf2f6222946&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke J Miller / Cedar Falls, Iowa](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Cedar Falls, Iowa Jan 31, 2016 7:23 PM UTC  Republican Presidential Candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaks to a group of potential supporters at a rally on the campus of Iowa State University, Saturday January 30, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. Republican Presidential Candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaks to a group of potential supporters at a rally on the campus of Iowa State University, Saturday January 30, 2016 in Ames, Iowa. Steve Pope—Getty Images by [Zeke J Miller / Cedar Falls, Iowa](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Cedar Falls, Iowa Jan 31, 2016 7:23 PM UTC Senator Marco Rubio’s campaign sent select Iowa voters a mailer designed to pressure them to attend Monday’s caucuses — a tactic employed [controversially](http://time.com/4201323/ted-cruz-mailer-iowa/) by the Ted Cruz campaign — but without sharing information on their neighbors or with official-sounding language. The mailer, shared with TIME, is branded as an “Iowa Caucus Report Card” listing the name and address of the recipient, as well as their voting history in prior caucuses, adding, “Improve your score by caucusing on Monday, February 1st.” The tactic is part of a political science-[inspired](http://isps.yale.edu/sites/default/files/publication/2012/12/ISPS08-001.pdf) effort to boost turnout that has gained prevalence in recent years. But the tone of the Rubio message is sharply different from that of the Cruz effort, which appeared designed to mimic a government mailer and accused voters of a “voting violation.” It also included information on voters’ neighbors, drawing privacy concerns. The Cruz message drew condemnation from Iowa’s secretary of state, but the candidate defended the tactic Saturday. “I will apologize to nobody for using every tool we can to encourage Iowans to come out and vote,” Cruz told reporters.   ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4201580/marco-rubio-iowa-mailer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4201580/marco-rubio-iowa-mailer/"},"headline":"Marco Rubio Echoes Ted Cruz's Tactic, but Without Controversy","datePublished":"2016-01-31T19:23:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:49.271Z","description":"Senator Marco Rubio's campaign sent select Iowa voters a mailer designed to pressure them to attend Monday's caucuses.","url":"https://time.com/4201580/marco-rubio-iowa-mailer/","keywords":["2016 Election","politics","Sen. 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